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Genetic diversity of the grapevine vector nematode Xiphinema index and application to optimize the resistance strategy

Abstract

The ban of most nematicides renders urgent control alternatives against plant-parasitic nematodes and breeding for resistant plant varieties is promising. In vineyards, the nematode Xiphinema index has a high economical impact by transmitting Grapevine fanleaf virus (GFLV), the main virus of ‘Court-noué’ disease and the first grapevine viral disease worldwide. Resistant rootstocks are being selected in grapevine, using Muscadinia rotundifolia (muscadine) as a resistance source to the vector, in order to arrest or delay GFLV transmission. In this crop, a previous study had shown that this meiotic parthenogenetic nematode is able to reproduce sexually (rarely) in the field. A preliminary phylogenetic work had allowed to reveal the predominant diversity groups and to select representative populations for the creation of single-female lines. Resistance durability is a real challenge that must consider the key information of the nematode diversity. In this context, the PhD project first completed and deepened our phylogeographical approach using an extended geographic coverage of the worldwide nematode distribution. Our results allow proposing strong hypotheses to locate the native area of X. index in the Middle-East and trace its dissemination routes from the Antiquity. They also highlight the close link since this epoch between dissemination of the nematode and domesticated grapevine by man. The second part of the PhD project has then evaluated the durability of muscadine-derived rootstock material in greenhouse (non viruliferous nematodes on plants aged 3 to 6 years) and field (viruliferous nematodes on plants aged 16 years) conditions. In the greenhouse, F1 and BC1 resistant accessions, previously obtained from both in vitro and hardwood-cutting propagation, were inoculated with 4 mixed representative X. index lines, traceable each with microsatellite markers. We showed that nematodes from plants obtained from in vitro progressively overcame the resistance while the material obtained from cuttings displayed a durable resistance. Nematode progressive multiplication in resistant accessions obtained only from in vitro removes a priori the hypothesis of a nematode genetic adaptation and appears linked to a different architecture of the root system in this propagation type. This type may have induced discrete but durable physiological changes in apical root tissues from where nematodes feed. Nematode microsatellite genotyping allowed detecting a low but increasing rate of hybrid individuals from 4 to 6 years, which confirms data from the vineyard. As the hybrid occurrence appears independent from the propagation type and the resistance status of the plant, our data discard hybridization as the mode of adaptation of the nematode underlying resistance breakdown from in vitro plants. In field conditions, after 16 years, nematodes were almost undetectable on the resistant BC1 accession, also almost unaffected by the viral attacks, while higher numbers were detected on a susceptible control accession, whose plants were by contrast in high majority dead or poorly vigorous. Taken all together, our results show that the muscadine-derived resistance strategy appears durable. This strategy focused on vector control will significantly contribute to reduce the impact of GFLV transmitted by X. index.